


this is home

by lavenderlinks



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: (all the other links are also there they're just kinda in the background), Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Magic, it's cute!! i promise!!!, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25237417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlinks/pseuds/lavenderlinks
Summary: “Whaddaya say about exploring? I can show you around here, Tabantha has some cool places to see!” Wild’s grin is infectious, and Hyrule finds himself smiling in response, nodding. The other boy cheers quietly before spinning around and shoving Twilight gently. The older hero gives them a weird look as Wild taps at his slate- Hyrule gets a quick glance at a sort of inventory on the screen before Wild shoves the slate into Twilight’s hands.“You’re in charge of dinner, it’s pretty safe around here so me ‘n Rule are gonna go explore, bye!” Wild blurts out, linking arms with Hyrule and dashing out of camp. He can hear Twilight sputtering behind him, and he knows Wild hears him too, judging by the teen’s laughs.Wild and Hyrule go exploring.
Relationships: Hyrule & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 235





	this is home

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello!! it's been a while since i've written anything djsfkjdsf, but i'm back!!! enjoy this fluff, i had a lot of fun writing it :D

A chilly wind stings at Hyrule’s nose and cheeks, blowing his curls into his face as he steps out of the portal. He shivers, tugging his tunic a bit closer as he looks around. Cliffs surround them, and he can see snow far in the distance. There… aren’t many plants, the grass is a dull, pale, yellowy sort of green. It’s… barren. But still, he can see signs of life- swarms of dragonflies buzzing through the air, a blur of orange that he thinks is a fox dashing away from them, a few spots of color on the cliff faces that Hyrule assumes are plants.

“This is my Hyrule,” Wild announces, fiddling with his slate. He holds the device up, open to a map, and stabs a finger at a yellow pointer on the screen. “We’re here- Tabantha. There’s a stable kind of close, but it would take a few hours of walking to get there.” There’s a chorus of groans and quiet complaints from the rest of the Links. They had already spent most of the day walking, and no one really wanted to keep going. 

“If the nearest settlement is hours away, we should set up camp here- everyone is tired enough already,” Time says. Wind lets out a cheer, slipping his bag off his back and flopping to the ground. As everyone starts setting up camp, Wild taps lightly on Hyrules shoulder, a bright smile on his face..

“Whaddaya say about exploring? I can show you around here, Tabantha has some cool places to see!” Wild’s grin is infectious, and Hyrule finds himself smiling in response, nodding. The other boy cheers quietly before spinning around and shoving Twilight gently. The older hero gives them a weird look as Wild taps at his slate- Hyrule gets a quick glance at a sort of inventory on the screen before Wild shoves the slate into Twilight’s hands.

“You’re in charge of dinner, it’s pretty safe around here so me ‘n Rule are gonna go explore, bye!” Wild blurts out, linking arms with Hyrule and dashing out of camp. He can hear Twilight sputtering behind him, and he  _ knows _ Wild hears him too, judging by the teen’s laughs.

“You aren’t taking your slate?” Hyrule asks after a few minutes, once they’ve slowed down- the Champion usually brings his slate  _ everywhere _ , it’s weird that he would just… let Twilight hold onto it.

“Nope! This is an adventure, and anyways, it’s safe enough around here that we shouldn’t need it. But Twi’ll need it, since it has all my ingredients and stuff.”

“Oh. Okay.”

For a moment, the only sound is the wind, and the tap of their boots on the rocks. Until a spot of color catches Hyrule’s eye, a splotch of bright purple against the dull tan of the cliff wall. He unhooks his arm from Wild’s and wanders over, reaching out a hand to pull the plant down towards him. Dull green leaves, vibrant purple petals- a violet of some kind. 

“It’s called a Swift Violet.” Hyrule jumps back at the sudden sound of Wild’s voice, heart racing for a moment before he calms, giving his friend a soft smile.   
“Don’t surprise me like that!” he laughs, moving back up to the cliff wall to take a closer look at the flower. “A Swift Violet… you said a lot of the plants in your world have magical effects, right?” Wild nods, and Hyrule’s smile grows. “A speed boost, then? For the violet?” Wild nods, reaching up and pulling the flower off the cliffside. 

“Yeah! You can use the leaves and the flowers- sometimes I use the leaves for steaming fish or meat, or fry ‘em with herbs and mushrooms ‘n stuff. And the flowers are good for elixirs, and Zelda says she thinks that they’d be good for tea, too. But I’ve never tried that.” Hyrule hums quietly in response, running his fingers over the smooth petals.

“Hmm… you would probably have to dry them for tea, right?” Hyrule muses, “but then that would probably be good. I wonder if it would keep the speed boost effect if it was dried?” 

“I think it would? But that would be good to test,” Wild says, eyebrows knit together in concentration. “I’ve never dried anything out before, I always just store stuff in the slate, and that keeps it good. We should test that! I bet Flora would help, she’s always ready to help with any kind of experiment, and she’s been wanting to try and make tea anyway!” 

“Yeah! Didn’t you say you have a house? If we ever end up there, we should try and test that,” Hyrule says. Wild nods enthusiastically, and Hyrule grins. 

“Hopefully next time we end up closer to Hateno,” Wild says, grabbing Hyrule’s hand and pulling him along. “But let’s keep going!” Hyrule follows the other hero with a bright smile, eager to see more.

As they wander around, the smile doesn’t fade from Hyrule’s face. This is just so  _ fun! _ He’s always wanted a chance to explore Wild’s home, and get a closer look at everything, and  _ wow _ does he wish he hadn’t left his sketchbook at camp because his hands practically itch to sketch all of the plants and animals they come across. 

“Here! We’re almost to the place I wanted to show you!” Wild is practically bouncing as he leads Hyrule through a narrow passage between two cliff faces and into a sheltered sort of area, a cliff acting as a barrier against the cold wind.

The first thing he notices as he steps forward is  _ magic _ . The air is heavy with it- thick and warm and heavy and honey-sweet, a comforting blanket compared to the Tabantha air. The plants are brighter here, the grass greener, dotted with tiny wildflowers, littered with strange plants- thistle, he thinks, kneeling down to brush his hand against smooth, orange buds. And carrots, a warm yellow-orange, mostly buried in the dirt. 

And then he takes a step back, takes a look at the entire clearing, and- 

“I-  _ whoa,  _ Champion- what is that, I- I’ve never seen anything like it!” 

A flower, of sorts, it seems, but  _ giant _ , orange petals reaching to the ground, to the cliff wall behind it, and dotted with colorful mushrooms in vibrant blues and pinks and purples and yellows. In the center of the petals is a sparkling pool of crystal-blue water, glowing golden particles of magic floating off of it. Elegant golden carvings adorn the petals around the pool, reflecting the light of the pool. A soft melody filters through the air, quiet but light, bright, magical. 

Hyrule finds himself speechless. This place, lit golden-warm in the light of the setting sun, takes his breath away with its beauty. In his Hyrule, there’s nowhere like this, nowhere warm and sweet and filled with plants and beauty and magic. It’s incredible.

At his side, Wild grins, letting go of Hyrule’s hand and bouncing up the the edge of the pool. He kneels down, pokes it once, and steps away, casually rocking on his feet as he waits for… something. 

In a moment, it becomes apparent what Wild was waiting for. A hand- inhumanly large, adorned with golden rings and bracelets, grips the edge of the pool, followed by another, and then by an equally large head and body.

The honey-warm feeling of magic intensifies, golden particles trickling through the air, warm and gentle and  _ familiar _ . Fairy magic. Fairy magic! This- this is a Great Fairy, Hyrule realizes. He didn’t recognize this as one of their pools- in his home, they were much less elaborate. But- 

“Link,” the Fairy says- booms, her voice  _ booms _ \- “It’s been some time, hasn’t it?” Wild laughs sheepishly, staring pointedly at the ground. 

“Uh- sorry? It’s pretty hard to visit when you’re in an entirely different era.” 

“No excuses! I’ve been waiting, you know, there isn’t much else to do.” Wild groans, loud and dramatic.

“I’ll try to visit more often, promise,” 

“Good,” Kaysa laughs, before finally spotting Hyrule. “And who’s this?” Hyrule shrinks back, curling a bit in on himself before looking up nervously.

“Um- I’m Hyrule,” he says, nervously raising a hand to the back of his neck, toying with his curls. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” 

Wild jumps down from the platform, grabbing Hyrule’s hand and pulling him up to the side of the pool. He stumbles to a stop at the edge of the water, Wild smiling encouragingly at him.

“Hyrule’s amazing,” he says, elbowing Hyrule lightly. “We call him the Traveler, and he knows  _ everything  _ about plants and potions and elixirs and stuff! Even more than Flora! And he knows magic, too. Cool magic, like lightning and fire and stuff” 

“Wild-” Hyrule starts, but the Champion cuts him off. 

“Nope! You’re accepting the compliments, you deserve them!” He grins and elbows Hyrule lightly before turning back to the Great Fairy.

“Well, you seem like a lovely young man, especially compared to this  _ scoundrel _ who never visits,” Kaysa says, her tone pleasant. Casual..

“Hey!” Wild gasps. “I visit plenty, come  _ on _ !” But he’s laughing and Hyrule realizes that he is, too, and just-

It all feels almost dreamlike, all of this, with the glow of the water and of the mushrooms and plants and fairies, and with the moonlight reflecting off of the golden ivy and golden water and golden hair, and he lets himself laugh, grin, talk, and everything is warm and comfortable and…

He loves it. He loves it so much. But soon enough, the moon has risen high in the sky, and they know that they can’t keep talking. The others are probably getting worried, and they can’t stay out exploring forever. So they say their goodbyes, and slip back through the passageway, waving back at Kaysa as they walk.

Slowly, they make their way back to camp. The moonlight is bright enough that they can see easily, but neither of them are quite ready to get back. It’s quiet, calming, out in nature. Everything- the quiet whistle of the wind, the chill in the air, it all contributes to the peaceful sort of feeling that has settled over the two heroes. 

When they finally do arrive back at camp, Twilight is the only one awake, seated by what must have been the cooking fire, which has now died down to embers, soft oranges and reds barely glowing in the dark. Wild’s cooking pot is set above the embers, steam visible in the air above it. Twilight perks up at the sound of their footsteps, standing up to greet them. He lightly punches Wild in the shoulder and ruffles Hyrule’s hair before moving back over to the fire, grabbing a couple of bowls from Wild’s slate on his way.

“You two took your time getting back,” he says, fumbling with a ladle. He spoons soup into the bowls as Wild laughs lightly.

“Yeah, well- there’s a lot to explore around here.” Hyrule nods eagerly, fighting back a smile at just the  _ thought _ of all of the things this Hyrule had to see. 

“There’s always a lot to see in your Hyrule, cub.” Twilight hands the two of them the bowls with a gentle smile, and gestures towards their bags. “Get some sleep, you two. Wild, you’ve got last watch.” 

“M’kay,” 

After a moment of fumbling with his bedroll, Hyrule flops down onto the blanket. After a moment of laying there, sprawled on the ground, he pushes himself up and grabs his bowl, cradling it in his hands as he stares up. Above him, the stars are little specks of gold glowing in the dark tapestry of the sky, and the wooden bowl warms his chilly hands, and Wild’s weight is heavy and comforting at his side. Hyrule sighs, leans back , and stares up at the heavens.

He feels small, compared to the sky, compared to the world, but it’s a nice small. There’s so much out there to find, to explore, and he’s just a little part of all of that, and it’s nice. 

Quietly, he starts to hum the song from the fountain, the melody rising and falling gently. As he continues, he grows more confident, the notes louder, more sure.

“What’s that song? I’ve never heard it before?” Wild asks. 

Wait- what? 

“I heard it at the fountain… you didn’t hear it?” Wild shakes his head, but smiles anyway, tossing an arm around Hyrule’s shoulder, gently bumping his head against Hyrule’s. 

“Nah, I’ve never heard it before. It’s pretty, though.” 

“Huh,” Hyrule says intelligently. “That’s weird. But yeah. It is.” He leans back, stares back up at the stars, and smiles. “It- it feels like home.” 

And here, with his friend- his brother- at his side, looking up at the stars, humming this soft, sweet melody, Hyrule feels like he’s finally found a home.


End file.
